Richard Cannon

“ These achievements, with others of recent dates, in the distant climes of India, prove that the same valour and constancy which glowed in the breasts of the heroes of Crecy, Poictiers, Agincourt, Blenheim, and Ramilies, continue to animate the Britons of the nineteenth century.
The British Soldier is distinguished for a robust and muscular frame,—intrepidity which no danger can appal,—unconquerable spirit and resolution,—patience in fatigue and privation, and cheerful obedience to his superiors. ”

“ To behold formidable and impenetrable bodies of horse, of infantry, and of artillery, advancing from all quarters, flashing savage fury, levelling the numberless instruments of slaughter, and darting destruction around, was a scene to appal even something more than the strongest human resolution ”

“ There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit de Corps—an attachment to everything belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great, the valiant, the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilized people. ”

“ The benefits derived to an army from the example of a distinguished Commander do not terminate at his death; his virtues live in the recollection of his associates, and his fame remains the strongest incentive to great and glorious actions.
“In this view the Commander-in-Chief, amidst the deep and universal regret which the death of Lieut.-General Sir John Moore has occasioned, recals to the troops the military career of that illustrious officer for their instruction and imitation. ”

“ The flank companies of the second battalion, consisting of eight officers, ten serjeants, and 202 rank and file, formed part of the centre column. The moon shone brightly as the soldiers assembled on the sands at midnight. Between two and three o’clock darkness overspread the country, and the troops issued silently from the fortress. They were challenged and fired upon by the enemy’s sentries, but the British soldiers rushed forward with their native ardour, overpowered the Spanish guards, and captured the batteries in gallant style. ”

“ The principal Secretary of State, writing to General Eliott, stated,—“I am honored with His Majesty’s commands to assure you, in the strongest terms, that no encouragement shall be wanting to the brave officers and soldiers under your command. His royal approbation of the past will no doubt be a powerful incentive to future exertions, and I have the King’s authority to assure you, that every distinguished act of emulation and gallantry, which shall be performed in the course of the siege by any, even of the lowest rank, will meet with ample reward from his gracious protection and favour.” ”

“ On the 16th of June, Napoleon, after having made one of his rapid movements, attacked the Anglo-Belgian troops at Quatre Bras, in which the fifth division under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Picton, of which Major-General Sir Denis Pack’s brigade formed part, was engaged. Then followed the movement on the 17th to Waterloo, where, on the 18th of June, was fought that memorable battle in which the sun of Napoleon set for ever, and the result of which gave to Europe a lengthened period of tranquillity. ”

“ Great Britain has produced a rate of lion-like champions who have dared to confront a host of foes, and have proved themselves valiant with any arms. At Crecy, King Edward III., at the head of about 30,000 men, defeated, on the 26th of August, 1346, Philip King of France, whose army is said to have amounted to 100,000 men; here British valour encountered veterans of renown:—the King of Bohemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and nobles were slain, and the French army was routed and cut to pieces. ”

“ Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood “firm as the rocks of their native shore:” and when half the world has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. ”

“ Bows and arrows gave place to various kinds of fire-arms, but British archers continued formidable adversaries; and, owing to the inconvenient construction and imperfect bore of the fire-arms when first introduced, a body of men, well trained in the use of the bow from their youth, was considered a valuable acquisition to every army, even as late as the sixteenth century.
During a great part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth each company of infantry usually consisted of men armed five different ways; in every hundred men forty were “men-at-arms,” and sixty “shot;” ”

“ When a corps is so striking in appearance, and so complete in every branch of its discipline, little can occur to the Commander-in-chief to particularize. He cannot but notice, however, that the Seventy-first regiment has excited his admiration for its expertness in those parts of its exercise which are most essential, and most difficult to execute. ”

“ The brave Sir Roger Williams, in his Discourse on War, printed in 1590, observes:—“I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spaniards) out of the field, let them be chosen where they list.” Yet at this time the Spanish infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in Europe. For instances of valour displayed by the British Infantry during the seventy Years’ War, see the Historical Record of the Third Foot, or Buffs.
[4] Vide the Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot. ”

“ The Spaniards, relinquishing all hope of reducing [19] the fortress by blockade, resolved to try the power of their numerous artillery. Scarcely had the fleet cast anchor, when the enemy’s batteries opened, and the fire of upwards of one hundred guns and mortars enveloped the fortress in a storm of war; a number of gun-boats augmented the iron tempest which beat against the rock, and the houses of the inhabitants were soon in ruins. On the 8th of May, Captain James Foulis, of the second battalion of the regiment, was wounded in the lines. ”

“ These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the troops themselves: and the enemy has been taught, that whatever advantages of position or of numbers he may possess, there is inherent in the British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows not how to yield,—that no circumstances can appal,—and that will ensure victory, when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means. ”

“ The conduct of the brigade was noticed in that battle, which was fought on the 27th of September 1810. In the admirable retreat afterwards to the lines of Lisbon, it formed, with the light division and cavalry, the rear-guard of the allied army. The first battalion of the Seventy-first having at that period joined Viscount Wellington, Colonel Pack’s wish was to have returned to the battalion, but by the desire of both commanders-in-chief, he continued to serve in the Portuguese army. ”

“ Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill requests that the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the corps of the army under his command will accept his best thanks for the gallant conduct they have [100] displayed during the late active and interesting operations.
“The chance of service has placed the troops under his command in situations where they were exposed to an immense superiority of forces, a circumstance unavoidable in operations so extensive as those in which this army has been engaged; and it has at all times been necessary to cede ground to the enemy. ”

“ The British force, twenty-nine thousand strong, joined at Toro on the 21st of December, and on the 23d of that month Sir John Moore advanced with the whole army. The cavalry had already met with that of the enemy, and the infantry were within two hours’ march of him, when an intercepted letter informed the British commander that Napoleon, who had entered Madrid on the 4th of December, was then in full march for Salamanca and Benevente. A retreat on Corunna, through Gallicia, was immediately decided on, that through Portugal being then impracticable. ”

“ The army encamped for the night on the field of battle, and on the following morning took up a position before Arnee; but a scarcity of grain compelled the general to retrace his steps towards Madras, and on the 20th of June he arrived at St. Thomas’s Mount.
In the months of July and August the army made two expeditions, one to Wandewash, in which it was foiled by the active and politic Hyder, the other for the relief of Vellore, in which it was more fortunate, having succeeded in throwing a large quantity of grain into that fortress. ”

“ In Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and where these pursuits have, for so [v] long a period, been undisturbed by the presence of war, which few other countries have escaped, comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little or no interval of repose. ”

“ During the summer the siege of Gibraltar was commenced by the Spaniards, the reduction of that important fortress [6] being one of the principal objects of Spain in becoming a party to the war.
1st bat.
The vessels conveying the first battalion formed part of a fleet escorted by Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, which on the passage touched at Goree, upon the coast of Africa. Goree being evacuated by the French for the purpose of fortifying Senegal, which had been captured by them early in the year, was occupied by a British force, left for that purpose by Sir Edward Hughes. ”

“ Lieut.-General Hill has great satisfaction in congratulating the troops on the success which has [88] attended their recent operations in Estremadura, and in so doing he cannot but endeavour to do justice to the merits of those through whose exertions it has been obtained. A patient willing endurance of forced and night marches, during the worst of weather and over bad roads, of bivouacs in wet weather, oftentimes without cover and without fire, and a strict observance of discipline, are qualities, however common in British soldiers, which the Lieut.-General cannot pass unnoticed. ”

“ The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance, have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and their character has been established in Continental warfare by the irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against superior numbers. ”

“ The feudal troops established by William the Conqueror consisted (as already stated in the Introduction to the Cavalry) almost entirely of horse: but when the warlike barons and knights, with their trains of tenants and vassals, took the field, a proportion of men appeared on foot, and, although these were of inferior degree, they proved stout-hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipendiary troops were employed, infantry always constituted a considerable portion of the military force ”

“ The defeat was the most complete that the French had sustained in the Peninsula. It was this victory which gained a bâton for the Marquis of Wellington, who was appointed a Field Marshal. In a most flattering letter, the Prince Regent, in the name and behalf of His Majesty, thus conferred the honor: “You have sent me among the trophies of your unrivalled fame the staff of a French Marshal, and I send you in return that of England.” This was in allusion to the bâton of Marshal Jourdan, which was taken by the eighty-seventh regiment at Vittoria. ”

“ The weapons carried by the infantry, during the several reigns succeeding the Conquest, were bows and arrows, half-pikes, lances, halberds, various kinds of battle-axes, swords, and daggers. Armour was worn on the head and body, and in course of time the practice became general for military men to be so completely cased in steel, that it was almost impossible to slay them. ”

“ In the early part of the seventeenth century Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, reduced the strength of regiments to 1000 men. He caused the gunpowder, which had heretofore been carried in flasks, or in small wooden bandoliers, each containing a charge, to be made up into cartridges, and carried in pouches; and he formed each regiment into two wings of musketeers, and a centre division of Pikemen. He also adopted the practice of forming four regiments into a brigade; and the number of colours was afterwards reduced to three in each regiment. ”

“ The natives of Britain have, at all periods, been celebrated for innate courage and unshaken firmness, and the national superiority of the British troops over those of other countries has been evinced in the midst of the most imminent perils. History contains so many proofs of extraordinary acts of bravery, that no doubts can be raised upon the facts which are recorded. ”